Feb 20, 2019

2016 Trump campaign staffer files suit over nondisclosure agreements

President Trump at a 2016 presidential campaign rally. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Jessica Denson, a former staffer on President Trump's 2016 campaign, filed a class action suit on Wednesday to annul every nondisclosure and non-disparagement agreement the campaign required employees, volunteers and contractors to sign, BuzzFeed News reported.

The details: The lawsuit, filed before the American Arbitration Association, argues that the language of the NDA is "impermissibly vague" and unlawful. If the NDAs are invalidated, former staffers would be able to speak openly about their time on the campaign trail without fear of facing financial penalties. Denson was ordered to pay nearly $50,000 to the campaign after filing a separate 2017 suit alleging that she experienced discrimination and harassment.

Go deeper: Former White House staffer Cliff Sims sues Trump for trying to silence him

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Alexi McCammond, Margaret Talev

Biden, Sanders work toward truce on big issues

Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden isn’t about to become Bernie Sanders, but he’s signaling that there’s potential for more common ground on issues such as health care, student debt, climate change and more in the weeks ahead.

What to watch: As Biden courts Sanders' endorsement, their teams will hold policy discussions in the next few weeks with the expectation that Biden will incorporate some elements of Sanders' agenda, a person familiar with those plans tells Axios.

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Jonathan Swan

Some Trump aides eye May 1 start to coronavirus reopening

President Trump was flanked at yesterday's briefing by HHS Secretary Alex Azar (far left), Vice President Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Trump's aides, encouraged by virus data showing fewer deaths than once projected, are working behind the scenes to deliver on his vow to reopen America "sooner rather than later."

What to watch for: The official said there’s a lot of internal energy pushing for May 1, because that's the end of the White House's "30 days to slow the spread."

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Death toll surpasses 14,800

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 2,000 people for the second day in a row, and it's infected over 432,000 others, per Johns Hopkins data.

Where it stands: More than 14,800 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. — including over 4,500 in New York. The state's death toll surged to its highest one-day total on Wednesday — beating the previous day's record. 779 people died in New York in 24 hours. N.Y. has reported more cases than the most-affected countries in Europe.

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